As U.S. forces surround Afghanistan, an ongoing civil war rages in the rugged mountains of the Texas-sized country. With America forces poised to join the battle, you need to know about Afghanistan's Taliban and Northern Alliance.

The Taliban

In 1978 : Pro-communist leftists took control of Afghanistan from the former republican government. The former Soviet Union immediately extended diplomatic recognition to the group. The new communist government established a set of social reforms that clashed with long-established Afghan social standards. Support for the communist government soon crumbled.

In 1979 : the former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan hoping to preserve pro-communist rule. 

From 1979-1989 : Anti-communist guerrillas known as the Mujahedeen, aided by technical assistance and training from the United States, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other countries, drove the Soviet military out. Among the leaders of the Mujahedeen, or holy warriors, was a Saudi-born fighter named Osama bin Laden. 

In 1994 : The Taliban, a Arabic word meaning "the students," organized in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar. After seizing control of Kandahar, the Taliban took over much of the rest of Afghanistan and began to move on the capital of Kabul. 

In 1996 : After two years of brutal combat, leaving the city reduced to ruins and over 50,000 innocent civilians dead, the Taliban took control of Kabul. 

Today: Under their leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban now impose on the Afghan people a form of Islam so strict that that it is considered aberrant and recognized by few other Islamic leaders. Even minor crimes are punishable by public execution. Women are not allowed to work, pursue education or to access public health care facilities. Other human rights violations abound. In March 2001, the Taliban first drew the general ire of the free-world by destroying the giant Buddha religious sculptures because they were "non-Islamic."

• The Taliban under Mullah Omar is thought to control about 90-percent of Afghanistan, and lists Osama bin Laden as a "guest" of the government. 

• The only country still recognizing and maintaining diplomatic relations with the Taliban is Pakistan. 

• Taliban troop strength is estimated at around 45,000. In addition, the Taliban has been reported arming children and elderly men, pressing them into battle against their main internal opponents, the Northern Alliance.

• While Taliban officials have claimed to be mobilizing some 300,000 additional troops, Pakistani experts on Afghanistan say this is highly improbably.

The Northern Alliance